High Desert Gold Reports on Metallurgical Tests from the Gold Springs Project: Average Gold Extraction from Grey Eagle is 79% and Jumbo 89%

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired - Sep 9, 2013) - High Desert Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:HDG) (OTCQX:HDGCF) (FRANKFURT:7HD) ("HDG" or the "Company") announces the results from a series of metallurgical tests designed to assess gold and silver extraction from coarse grained material by bottle roll testing using cyanidation. These tests were conducted on 7 samples collected from the RC (reverse circulation) chips from the 2012 drill program at the Grey Eagle and Jumbo targets at Gold Springs in Nevada and Utah. Tests were carried out on RC chips rather than pulverized material as had been used in previous metallurgical tests. (See PR10-17, October 18, 2010, and PR13-01, January 28, 2013)

Five kg samples were subjected to bottle roll agitation for one minute every hour for 40 days. Six samples gave consistent results and are reported here. The average gold extraction in the Grey Eagle target (Nevada) was 78.8% (range: 74%-83%) for fine to medium grained material (P80 0.07 to 0.24 inches) and 88.5% (range: 88%-89%) for Jumbo (Utah) (P80 0.03 to 0.14 inches). Gold grades for test samples ranged between 0.15 g/t and 5.3 g/t.

Silver extractions for the same samples were much more variable and lower as was expected from previous work. There is a significant difference in silver extraction between Grey Eagle and Jumbo with much higher extractions coming from Jumbo. The average silver extraction from Grey Eagle was 19% and from Jumbo was 53.5%. Further testing will be needed to determine why these are different. Tests on these same samples using pulverized material (P80 of 0.075mm) gave extractions in the range of 10%-60% for Grey Eagle and 71%-99% for Jumbo.

Samples in this latest test series came from the same drill holes, GE-12-001, GE-12-002, J-12-004 and J-12-005, as used in the prior tests. (See PR13-01, January 28, 2013).

Ralph Fitch, President and CEO, stated that "The excellent gold extractions on this coarser material suggest that the gold mineralization will likely be heap leachable. This is a very positive step forward for the project. Also noteworthy is that 50-60% of the gold was extracted within the first 48 hours of the test with the remaining gold recovered over the balance of the 40 day test period. As we move forward studies will include trade-off studies between heap-leach scenarios using coarse material and slightly lower gold extractions and vat-leach scenarios using fine grained material and high metal recoveries."

Gold Springs is 100%-owned by High Desert Gold Corp..

The Qualified Person on the Gold Springs property is Randall Moore, Executive Vice President of Exploration of High Desert Gold Corporation and he has reviewed and approved the content of this press release.

All technical information in this news release is obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control program. All samples were collected under the supervision of Company geologists and transported directly to Kappes, Cassiday & Associates ("KCA") in Reno, Nevada by Company personnel. The metallurgical tests and assays were performed in Reno, Nevada by KCA. Gold content was determined using standard fire assay methods with flame atomic absorption spectrophotometric FAAS finish. Silver content was determined using wet chemistry methods (4-acid digestion) with FAAS finish.


ABOUT HIGH DESERT GOLD

The Company is a mineral exploration company that acquires and explores mineral properties, primarily gold, copper and silver, in North America. The principal property held by HDG is a 100% interest in the Gold Springs gold project situated along the border between Utah and Nevada. The Company also holds direct interests in a number of other properties including the San Antonio project in Sonora, Mexico, the Gold Lake property in New Mexico, and the Kinkaid and Pinyon properties in Nevada. The Company also has a 26.8% interest in Highvista Gold Inc. which owns 100% of the Canasta Dorada property in Sonora, Mexico.


Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "designed", "further", "suggest", "likely", "will", "recoverable", and similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the continued advancement of the Gold Springs property. In addition, information concerning the interpretation of drilling and metallurgical testing results may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present and recoverable if and when a mining project is actually developed. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: the ability to reproduce the recoveries obtained by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates in their lab testing on an industrial or commercial scale; the availability of sufficient financing to fund planned or further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined and other risks more fully described in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis of Financial Position and Results of Operations, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The material assumptions that were applied in developing the forward-looking statements include: the effectiveness of the Company's quality control/quality assurance programs; the availability of equipment and qualified personnel, and the timely receipt of permits, to advance the Gold Springs project; and the execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for Gold Springs, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this release describe the Company's expectations as of September 9, 2013.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.



Contact

High Desert Gold Corporation
Richard Doran, Executive Vice President
(303) 584-0606
(303) 758-2063
rdoran@hdggold.com